BEREA, Ohio - Cornerback is one of the deepest positions in the 2013 draft. With the NFL becoming more of a passing league, teams are
looking to give their depth charts three reliable corners.

With a deep class this year, this is a perfect opportunity to add one, and teams did just that in Thursday's first round.

Alabama's Dee Milliner is the best of the bunch, and he went ninth overall Thursday night to the New York Jets. There is a large gap between him and the rest of the group. But the others in my top five and the players who just missed this list all
project as starters.

Among those who didn't make my top five but project as starters are Houston's D.J. Hayden,
who shot up the chart and went 12th overall to Oakland; and three other players who are still on the board: Connecticut's Blidi Wreh-Wilson, N.C. State's David Amerson and Mississippi
State's Darius Slay.

Here is my reposted list of the Top 5 cornerbacks in the 2013 NFL Draft:

When Milliner came out of high school, every big school
wanted him. He chose to play for Nick Saban at Alabama, where he was overshadowed
early in his career. During his sophomore year Millner started just six games
playing alongside future NFL players Dre Kirkpatrick, DeQuan
Menzie, Dont'a Hightower, Courtney Upshaw, Josh Chapman and Mark Barron. 2012
was a different story. Milliner became a full-time starter and the best player
on a National Championship defense that allowed just 173 passing yards passing and 10.9 points a game. Some of the top receivers in the SEC struggled
against the Tide (Arkansas' Cobi Hamilton with 2 catches for 14 yards, Tennessee's
Justin Hunter with 4 catches for 70 yards and Tennessee's Cordarrelle Paterson had
just 1 catch for 25 yards) and Milliner was at the center of that on his way to becoming a
first-team All-American.

Milliner is strong, tough and has outstanding
instincts. In the running game, he is a willing supporter but will miss some
tackles. He often dives at the legs of ball-carriers. In the passing game,
Milliner is rarely caught out of position and recognizes routes well. But his
footwork and technique will need some work. The Thorpe Award finalist comes into the NFL looking
like he's ready to make an impact immediately. He has an elite combination of
size, speed and athleticism. However, Alabama corners have struggled adjusting to the NFL, and Milliner could too.

Even though he's been
well-schooled by Nick Saban, Milliner wasn't asked to do a lot of backpedaling
and looked much more comfortable in zone coverage than man-to-man. I don't
think Milliner will ever be an elite, All-Pro corner with shutdown skills, but
he is a better overall prospect than his former teammate, Dre Kirkpatrick, who
went to the Bengals with the 17th pick last year.

Rhodes came to Florida State as a wide receiver before
moving to cornerback. He redshirted his first season but it didn't take him
long to make an impact on defense. As a redshirt freshman, he started all 14
games and produced (58 total tackles, 3.5 for loss, 2 sacks, 12 pass
breakups and 4 interceptions).

Yet for some reason (bad coaching), Rhodes
played in a three-man rotation in 2011 and his numbers dropped. He came back in
2012, regained his status as a full-time starter and turned into the best
man-to-man cover corner in college football.

That's what Rhodes is. He's not very comfortable in zone
coverage and doesn't yet have a great understanding of the position. However, he is
physical and uses his long arms to reroute receivers at the line of scrimmage.

Rhodes' handsy play may lead to some early penalties as he gets adjusted
to tighter rules, but it's rare to see college corners play sticky man-to-man
coverage the way he does. There were questions about his long speed that
were quelled at the combine. With those doubts answered, Rhodes will hear his
name called on Thursday night.

There have been five Boise State defensive backs (George
Iloka, Brandyn Thompson, Kyle Wilson, Orlando Scandrick and Gerald Alexander)
drafted in the last seven years.

Taylor was a starter on
defense his sophomore and junior seasons. Unfortunately for him, his 2011
campaign was interrupted by a stress fracture in his leg. He came back for the
bowl game and returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown. He carried
that momentum into his final season on the blue turf.

While the Broncos' offense usually gets all the headlines in Idaho, the defense emerged into spotlight in 2012.
Taylor was a big part of that as the defense allowed
just three passing touchdowns all season. The instinctive and dependable corner
started every game as a senior and was a difference maker (51 total tackles,
3.5 for loss, 2.5 sacks, 9 pass breakups, 4 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles).

The first-team All-Mountain West performer is a smooth athlete. He has good speed to match up
with receivers in man-to-man coverage and is not afraid to get physical. While
he tends to be overaggressive and gets caught looking, he is a playmaker in the
secondary that has the ability to change games. He didn't face top-notch
competition in the MWC and that will be an adjustment, but he has the skill-set, size, attitude and
experience to sneak into the first round and become an immediate starter.

His brother, Marcus, has set the family standards high but, with some coaching, Washington's Desmond Trufant could reach that level.

Trufant started the first 45 games of his career before an
injury ended that impressive streak. It wasn't until his senior season when he really
burst onto the national scene. Even though his production (36 tackles, 4.5 for
loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception and 9 pass breakups) wasn't
great, he still earned All-Pac 12 first-team honors.

At the Senior Bowl, he picked up more steam. Trufant showed his speed in
coverage against Markus Wheaton in practices and held his own physically against
the 6-foot-3 Aaron Dobson from Marshall. He was one of the top-performing
defensive backs at the Scouting Combine.

Trufant, like his brother Marcus (Seattle Seahawks), has the
size, quickness and athleticism that teams are looking for. He is a sticky
man-to-man defender with an ability to mirror on the outside.

He is feisty,
competitive and plays the game with a swagger. However, there are concerns with
his game right now. His technique needs work. He needs to learn to play smarter
as mental lapses lead to big plays. He needs to get much stronger and become more reliable as a tackler. Trufant has the skill-set that landed him in the first round, but he needs to be coached up to maximize his immense potential. If
that happens, he will give his brother a run for his money when it comes to
family bragging rights.

The plan for Banks his first year in Starkville was to play special teams. Injuries forced him into action, but it wasn't as a
cornerback. Banks played safety for the final seven games of his freshman
season. The coaches took notice, naming him to the Freshman All-SEC squad (33
tackles, 4 interceptions and 2 touchdowns).

Banks made the switch to corner in
2010 and his game started taking off as a junior in 2011. He made a number of
plays in coverage (5 INT's and 9 pass breakups), but the Bulldogs also turned
him loose and let him blitz (8 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and 3 forced fumbles).
Banks thought about the NFL, but stuck around and turned into a premier
corner. He was named first-team All-Conference, second-team All-American and
was given the Jim Thorpe Award as college football's best
defensive back.

Banks leaves Mississippi State with the school record for
interceptions. There is a lot to like about him. He has great size, plays physical and has tremendous length. He has good agility, is aggressive and a
ballhawk in the secondary.

However, sometimes that aggressiveness crosses the
line into recklessness and he takes chances that lead to big plays for the opponent. Right now, Banks tends to get by on athleticism
and natural talent. He will need to improve his technique. Even
though Banks is not quite the prospect the headlines and accolades would lead you to believe, he has a unique game and his style translates well to the
NFL.

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